Three crossdressers beaten and forced to strip by men in Benin Republic (Video)
Three crossdressers who are suspected to be homosexuals were stripped to their pants by an angry mob in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
It was gathered that the group of men who are apparently anti-gay, attacked the crossdresser with bottles, humiliated and forced them to strip naked.
The incident happened on Saturday, May 1st, at a popular lounge in Cotonou, and videos from the scene were shared on social media.
In the video, the men are seen harassing the crossdressers as they forced them to take off their clothes while also slapping them and throwing objects at them.
The viral video caught the attention of an NGO and LGBT+ advocacy group, Hirondelle Club Benin and they shared it on Twitter to spread awareness about violence against transgenders.
“We have just denounced an umpteenth aggression against people LGBTQi in Benin a few days before the celebration of May 17. We condemn these acts with the last rigor. We will come back for more details.” The group captioned the video.
One of the victims told the Observers that the attack was planned.
Speaking on the attack, another victim said,
“My man knew I was transgender and asked me to invite my transgender friends. When we arrived, he asked me to go outside.
“Once we managed to get outside to help our friend, they began attacking the three of us. There were about 200 men there, and they forced us to strip naked while they laughed and filmed up. It was humiliating.”
“We’ll never be able to find a job again,” another victim laments.
Watch the video below;
Nous venons dénoncer une fois encore une énième agression contre les personnes LGBTQI au Bénin à quelques jours de la célébration du 17 Mai.Nous condamnons ces actes avec la dernière rigueur.Nous vous reviendrons pour plus de détails. @EgidesAlliance @FrontlinDefend @ISDAOSankofa pic.twitter.com/CoPQ80HSzC
— Hirondelle Club Benin (@HirondelleBenin) May 1, 2021